A Raven's Intellect, A Snake's Cunning, and a Lion's Courage
by eostby
Summary: Preparing to face the most famous Trio in the school for the first time isn't easy, but for Su Li, it was a necessity. For the First Time Competition. Rated T for safety. Major update and revision completed August 20th, 2015.


**A/N: As with all of my stories, I do not claim the Potterverse that J.K. Rowling created. I merely create a plot in the sandbox she has left us.**

In almost 5 years at Hogwarts, Su Li had observed that many odd things seemed to occur around the so-called "Golden Trio" of Gryffindor. She observed this because she was a true Ravenclaw, and that was what true Ravenclaws did, but that was not the primary reason why she merely observed this. For some reason (and Su Li held many suspicions about why this might be), Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were rarely if ever paired for classes, so witnessing the dynamics of the Trio in person were fleeting moments for Su Li. Were she able to get a better look at their dynamic (though she didn't feel comfortable attempting to sneak into the Lions' common room), she felt she could make much better progress on feeling out where they stood on issues very important to her family.

As it stood, she was fairly certain that talking to the loud obnoxious redhead was an exercise in futility. Thank small miracles that she didn't end up in Slytherin, because the glares she sometimes received from him would have likely become curses had she been unfortunate enough to wear green and silver on her robes. She was quite unable to understand how someone as intelligent as Granger could stand to be around him (and while she had yet to observe any of their famous rows, she had certainly heard quite a bit about them). And the way he clung to Potter's fame was vaguely nauseating to her. Particularly due to his tendency of speaking on Potter's behalf, when her observations very clearly pointed to Potter not only having not talked with the red head on most of the topics he spoke about, but probably not even knowing his name was being used in those conversations.

Unfortunately, she couldn't be completely sure about what Potter DID know, and since talking to Weasley was a stone wall dead end, she really needed to see how Potter and Granger reacted without the redhead in tow. The DA meetings that were held in secret had told her just about as much as she thought she needed to learn about the Trio as a whole (and made her think that the "Trio" as an idea had an inherent flaw that just needed a little shove), so she would have to try and separate Potter and Granger from Weasley for just enough time to form a coherent plan.

A few more days of observing gave Su the beginnings of a strategy, and for simply creating her first real face-to-face meeting with the famed Trio, she thought it would be enough. Her plan was a very simple one: Catch up with the Trio outside the Great Hall before lunch, thereby giving an out to dealing with Weasley. Remind Granger of her offer to tutor her fellow students in Runes (the public declaration she had made during class, and not her private tutoring with Potter, which the handful of people in the school who knew of it believed to be an excuse for something else entirely, but which Su herself had personally observed taking place in an out of the way corner in the library), and see if Potter would also be willing to provide some individual DADA help, as there were a very few in the school who could match his ability, and nearly none as approachable about the matter.

Of course, Su knew very well the adage that "no plan survives contact with the enemy." And in her case, the enemy that wrecked her carefully crafted plan was time. As in, a slight delay in leaving her class forced her to nearly run to get to the Great Hall, and changed her plan from "Politely ask for a quiet word" to "Shout at the Trio before they got into the Hall." It was panic that overrode her Ravenclaw sensibilities in that moment, and kept the thought "You could always do this another day" from her brain at the crucial point.

"Potter! Granger! Could I have a word, please?" she shouted. The Trio turned to face her, almost in unison, and had Su Li many other students at Hogwarts, she might have simply run away trembling. Though her mind firmly categorized the lot of them as simply "gifted students, and also Weasley", the sheer power she felt coming from them in that moment was inspiring and frankly a little terrifying. She knew that her primary goal was to see just how much power the Trio actually could wield, and whether or not she could direct that for the purposes of her family, but the actual magical force in front of her well exceeded her wildest dreams. And that was before even considering the brains of Granger and the potential family resources of Potter. Su was in awe for a moment before Weasley rather rudely shoved in front of his friends to glare at her.

"What do you want, Ravenclaw?" Weasley ground out. Had he really not even bothered to learn her name? It wasn't like she was some fresh-faced firstie; they were in the same year for Merlin's sake! No wonder he wasn't well-liked throughout Hogwarts if he was that dense (despite his detractors, at least some small portion of the school populace appreciated Potter all of the time).

"Ron!" exclaimed Granger in a rather scandalized tone. "Su takes Defence with us, and she and I often take notes together in the classes we share. I imagine she probably wants to talk about classes. Why are you being so cold to her?"

Su watched as Weasley's glare got shifted onto Granger, who glared right back, forcing the boy to turn towards Potter instead looking for support, only to be met with a raised eyebrow and a slight shake of the head. The redhead's face nearly tried matching his hair color, but seeing no support forthcoming, he grumbled to himself as he pushed past his friends (for now, thought Su) into the Great Hall. That interaction, while not being particularly surprising to Su, did clarify a few thoughts she had already formulated about just what the hierarchy of the Trio was (the rest of Ravenclaw had their own theories about the hierarchy, but most of the purebloods foolishly assumed Granger was a tier lower than the other two, and many of the others thought the Trio was three equals; Su knew better).

As Potter and Granger walked over to meet her, Su went over what she needed to ask about one more time, mostly to calm herself back down. It wouldn't do to trip over her words like an ickle firstie in front of The Chosen One and his best friend.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger," Su said as she bowed to each of them politely. "I need your help with a few things. Could we talk in private whenever you are free?"

A quick wordless conversation between Potter and Granger (how did they convey so much with just eye contact and body language, wondered Su), and the raven-haired boy nodded. "If you'd like, we could take care of this matter right now. Is that acceptable, Miss Li?"

Su was taken aback momentarily, but quickly regained her composure. "Certainly. I assume you have a location in mind?"

Granger started towards one of the many moving staircases. "Indeed. Though I'm sure you know the way as well. Harry, you can handle the preparations, can't you?"

Potter nodded, but didn't immediately move to follow. Su, reading the play for what it was, allowed herself to be boxed in between the Gryffindors on the staircases, knowing that the pair was merely being cautious. She caught up with Granger outside the Room of Requirement, though the door in the otherwise blank wall was already open, indicating that the Room had been prepared for them. Looking over her shoulder, Su noticed that while she had assumed Potter had been following behind her, he was nowhere to be seen. Her brief moment of concern turned to straight confusion when she entered the Room to find him already seated at a fine dining table set for three.

Potter's blazing green eyes seemed more mischievous than Su Li had ever seen them, almost daring her to ask how he got to the Room before she did. Resisting the urge to do just that, Su gracefully walked to a seat at the table, only for Potter to stand and move the chair out for her. She nodded her thanks at his gentlemanly behavior, and got comfortable as he did the same for Granger before returning to his own seat. As Su was about to speak, Potter held up a hand. "Before we get into what I'm sure is important discussion, perhaps we should have food being readied. However, you must promise not to reveal a very important secret that is tied to how we will be served today. I won't ask you for an oath; simply being part of the DA is good enough for me, but I do need that promise."

Su considered the request for a moment (how could something food-related be so vitally important?), but did not complain and made her promise. Potter nodded and called for Dobby, who was apparently a House Elf bonded to Potter but currently working at Hogwarts. Why Potter wanted that to stay a secret was unknown to Su, but she wasn't about to break Potter's trust now, so she let the thought pass from her mind. The elf brought a fine selection of cuisine, and the three passed the meal time with some polite conversation. Once everyone's hunger had been sated, Su Li got to the point of why she had asked for this meeting.

"First off, how much do you know about your family's history, Potter? Specifically as it relates to protection and sanctuary?" asked Su. He gave Granger a significant glance before responding.

"Your timing is very fortuitous, Su Li. If you had asked me that question any year before this one, I would have been utterly dumbfounded. However, this summer, I got a missive from Gringotts that advised me to look into a similar matter, and I did so. Should I assume that, based on your phrasing, you intend to ask me for protection or sanctuary, or perhaps both?"

Su's eyes got very wide, and she was only able to nod back.

"I see. May I ask who you are seeking protection from, and why?"

Regaining some of her composure, Su found her voice again. "My family moved to Britain many years ago, because my parents were wrongly accused of defrauding a prominent member of the Yakuza. They had hoped that by leaving Asia, they might be left alone. But there was a complication that none of us knew until this year: the Yakuza has magical members as well, and they know we are here. I know of no one else who I would trust more in stopping a bunch of violent madmen, and Harry, I need your help. Please, help me!" Su's eyes shone with tears, and she was barely able to stay seated upright. It took both of the Gryffindors coming to her side to hold her still as she broke down into heaving sobs.

After a couple of minutes, the sobbing stopped, and Harry and Hermione looked down to see that Su had fallen asleep between them. With just a thought, the Room provided them a bed to lay Su on, and a moment later, Dobby was taking a message to Professor Flitwick about where his Raven was and why Harry and Hermione would probably not be able to attend Charms class that day.

"Poor girl, the stress of the whole thing must have hit her all at once," mused Harry quietly.

"So what are you going to do, Harry?" replied Hermione softly.

Harry looked pensive for a few moments. "I don't know how exactly I'm going to protect her and her family, Mione, but I'm going to do it. It's the right thing to do, and it's not like my life will be in any more danger, right?" he finished with a lopsided grin.

Hermione punched him lightly in the arm. "Prat. But you're right. Just be careful taking on so much responsibility, Harry. You still have your own violent madmen to stop here."

Harry nodded absently, staring over at the gently dozing Ravenclaw. "Someone has to bear the responsibility, Hermione, and I'll be damned if I let someone else do it for me. I can count on you to help me with this, of course?"

A hug from Hermione and a whispered "Of course" was her answer.

"Then let's get to work."

**A/N 2: This story, more than any of my others, required quite a few edits for me to feel happy with where it is, and I hope that those edits made things much easier to read and understand. As always, I thank you for reading, and hope that reviewing, following, and favoriting are not far behind.**


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